Sports
Mike Modano
born 1970 · ice hockey center
The NHL's all-time leading American-born goal scorer, born and raised in Livonia, who closed out his 21-season career with a single season for his hometown Red Wings.
- Born
Livonia, Michigan
age 56- Birth name
- Michael Thomas Modano Jr.
- Detroit years
- 1970–1988, 2010–2011
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Modano grew up in Livonia and Westland, playing for the Detroit Little Caesars Triple AAA club and wearing number 9 in honor of both his father's idol Ted Williams and Detroit's own Gordie Howe. Drafted first overall by the Minnesota North Stars in 1988, he became the face of the franchise as it moved to Dallas, winning the Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999 and finishing his career as the most prolific American-born goal scorer in NHL history. In 2010, with his longtime rival Red Wings the team he had idolized as a child, Modano came home, signing a one-year contract to close out his career in Detroit. He scored his first goal as a Red Wing on just his second shift of the season, but a late-season benching kept him just short of 1,500 career games, and he retired after a second-round playoff loss in 2011. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014.
Highlights
- Born in Livonia; grew up playing for Detroit Little Caesars
- First overall pick, 1988 NHL entry draft (Minnesota North Stars)
- NHL's all-time leading American-born goal scorer
- Closed his 21-season career with the Red Wings, 2010–2011
- Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 2010–2011
Joe Louis Arena
Demolished · 1979–2019
Where he closed out his career for his hometown team; demolished in 2019.